The invention relates to cushions and cushioned devices such as seat cushions for automobiles, mattress pads for sleeping bags, protective jackets for motorcycle riders, padded straps, baseball catcher and umpire chest protectors, inexpensive baseball mitts, and cushions for use in back packing between the back of the user and his pack, for example.
In the prior art ventilated cushions were frequently made for example, as shown in a U.S. Pat. No. 1,911,276, in which the ventilating and cushioning device was a spiral coil of spring wire. Those devices were relatively expensive to made and had the disadvantages of causing wear to the upholstery and to the clothes of the user, particularily, when the cushions began to wear and metal parts would extend through the covering material.
Other devices in the prior art such as baseball catcher and umpire chest protectors and backpacks have not been ventilated and have been extremely hot to wear. In addition they absorb moisture and are subject to mildew.